Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, whenever a majority of the employees employed by the district in a unit appropriate for collective bargaining indicate a desire to be represented by a labor organization, the district, upon determining, as provided in Section 102403, that the labor organization represents the employees in the appropriate unit, shall enter into a written contract with the accredited representative of the employees governing wages, salaries, hours, pensions, and working conditions. If, after a reasonable period of time, representatives of the district and the accredited representatives of the employees fail to reach agreement either on the terms of a written contract governing wages, hours, pensions, and working conditions or the interpretation or application of the terms of an existing contract, upon the agreement of both the district and the representatives of the employees, the dispute may be submitted to an arbitration board and the decision of the majority of the arbitration board shall be final and binding.
The arbitration board shall be composed of two representatives of the district, and two representatives of the labor organization, and they shall endeavor to agree upon the selection of the fifth member. If they are unable to agree, the names of five persons experienced in labor arbitration shall be obtained from the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service. The labor organization and the district shall, alternately, strike a name from the list so supplied, and the name remaining after the labor organization and the district have stricken four names, shall be designated as the arbitrator. The labor organization and the district shall determine by lot who shall first strike from the list. The decision of a majority of the arbitration board shall be final and binding upon the parties. The expenses of arbitration shall be borne equally by the parties. Each party shall bear his or her own costs.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 46, Sec. 133. (SB 1038) Effective June 27, 2012.)